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As the first footage from the backdoor pilot for Supernatural: Bloodlines showed, this spinoff series is a very different animal than the Winchester brothers’ main mission. But that doesn’t mean they don’t have a place in Chicago.

Series writer Andrew Dabb chatted with TV Line about the project, and revealed how Sam and Dean are introduced into the city-set spinoff, which focuses on five monster families that secretly run Chicago. In classic Winchester style, the boys roll into town and stir everything up, which sets the offshoot series Bloodlines into motion.

Here’s how he explained it:

“Sam and Dean being here is really what starts Ennis, our hunter character, off and gets our monster families revved up. Sam and Dean being here is the first domino to fall that makes the series possible. It’s incredibly important. They’ve got their own show to go to, and it’s a great show. But should Bloodlines go forward, we’d love to have them back if things worked out scheduling-wise and if we could find a story that’s cool and doesn’t feel like a repeat of the planted pilot.”

The spinoff will be an ensemble show, though part of it will be framed around new monster hunter Ennis (Lucius Laviscount), who will be introduced in the backdoor pilot episode tonight on The CW.

Dabb said they made it a point to base the series in the big city, to differentiate it from the typical small-town settings fans are used to in the mothership series. The boys typically pose as FBI agents in these small towns to investigate cases, though tricks like that wouldn’t really work in a big city, where there is likely already a legit federal police presence.

The story of Bloodlines will also gives the monsters the upper hand when it comes to power and influence, which will make things very tough for Ennis if this series actually gets a pickup:

“We’ve got some monster families that have been there since the city was founded. Some of them are part of the city not only as the criminal side, but the legit side. They’re big donors. They’re involved in politics [and] higher echelon. So a hunter is at a disadvantage when he starts out in Chicago. We’ll see that a little bit with Sam and Dean, and we’ll see that very much with Ennis if the show goes forward. … The truth of the matter is, monsters are afraid of hunters. Our monster mob families have really tried to keep a low profile. Any hunter that manages to stumble in and figure out what’s going on, they have a lot of incentive to get rid of that person because it creates real problems for them. It is something where the scales are tipped a little more in the monsters’ favor, but that just makes the hunters more heroic for standing up to them.”

Supernatural airs Tuesday nights on The CW.

The spinoff at least looks to be a very different animal than the proper series, so here’s hoping it’s able to bring a fresh flavor to the proceedings. What do you think?